Bang—
The pale gold light of the Celestial Spirit summon dissipated, and Riyao, wearing a purple dress, landed steadily beside Mirajane. Standing side by side, anyone who didn't know better would surely think they were a pair of sisters.
The crowd in the guild hall, who were drinking and playing cards, looked up for a moment before calmly looking back down to continue what they were doing. Cana shook her wine glass and smiled with a raised eyebrow, Gray didn't even stop his hand from picking at ice cubes, and Elfman mumbled while gnawing on a steak, "Brother-in-law is cross-dressing again."
After all, this wasn't the first time this guy had cross-dressed to be the guild's poster girl; last time, he even wore a maid outfit to serve everyone coffee.
Riyao familiarly wrapped his arm around Mirajane's waist and nuzzled his head against her shoulder. His dark circles were faintly visible under the foundation, and his tone was clingy: "Mira, did you miss me? Here, the sea breeze cupcakes you wanted." As he spoke, he pulled a box tied with a blue ribbon from his dress pocket and handed it to her.
Mirajane took the cake, her fingertips gently poking his dark circles, her gentle smile like melting cream: "What have you been up to outside again? Why did you change into women's clothes?"
No one knew this gentleness was just a facade; a few days ago, she and Erza had fought three hundred rounds in the guild's backyard for the title of "Fiore's Number One Girl" in the weekly magazine, tearing down half a wall in the process.
However, since becoming lovers with Riyao, she had indeed restrained much of her She-Devil aura, but at her core, she was still that tough character who could go toe-to-toe with Erza.
Riyao suddenly raised his voice, intentionally letting the whole guild hear: "I saw Natsu and Happy at Hargeon Port!"
Mirajane tilted her head, the smile in the corners of her eyes fading slightly, her tone carrying a bit of helplessness: "Did they blow up the town again? Or burn down someone's warehouse?"
Riyao pulled her over to the sofa and sat down, simply letting Mirajane sit on his lap, his voice deliberately drawn out: "How could that be? Natsu's all grown up! He was out having a big meal with a blonde, rich, and beautiful girl. That motion-sick Natsu even boarded a luxury cruise ship for a banquet for her sake! At this moment, he might even be holding that little girl's hand and taking a walk under the moonlight."
Mirajane's eyes instantly widened, and the cake box in her hand almost fell to the floor: "That's impossible, right? Could that idiot Natsu have finally wised up?"
The guild instantly erupted: "Natsu? In love?" "The sun must be rising from the west!" "Could Riyao be making this up?" Discussions rose and fell as everyone looked over curiously.
Lisanna's eyes widened in surprise: "Natsu? Rich and beautiful girl? A date? How do those three things even connect?"
Cana put down her wine glass and crossed her arms with a look of suspicion: "You're not lying again, are you? Natsu dating a rich and beautiful girl? That's more ridiculous than the Master suddenly growing to 185 centimeters!"
Riyao slapped his thigh, his voice louder than anyone's: "What I'm saying is absolutely true! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Slap! Mirajane reached out and slapped his thigh, gritting her teeth: "If you're going to slap a thigh, slap your own. Why slap mine? Do you want to sleep on the floor tonight? Change back quickly; I'll allow you to use recovery magic to get rid of those dark circles."
Riyao curled his lip, a flash of light appearing on him as he used Requip magic. The purple dress was replaced by a loose black shirt, and the dark circles vanished.
Gray, with his bare arms, huddled with Elfman and whispered: "That fire dragon idiot can fall in love? No matter how I think about it, it's impossible."
Elfman patted his shoulder and said solemnly: "Put some clothes on first, Gray! I believe what my brother-in-law says. A real man doesn't lie!"
The heat of the discussion grew higher and higher, and even Makarov leaned in, stroking his beard and imagining: "Natsu in love... what would that look like? Would he learn to give girls flowers? Would he stop burning things randomly?" As he spoke, he started laughing until his face wrinkled.
The moon hung high.
The sun rose in the east.
In a flash, it was the next day. The guild hall was even livelier than on the day of the S-Class Trial. Members who hadn't gone out on missions were all squeezed in here, with potato chips and beer on the tables. Someone was even holding a drawing board, sketching "Natsu's Wedding."
No one could say for sure how the rumors started, but they had evolved from "knowing a rich and beautiful girl" to a "secret marriage partner," and finally to "Natsu bringing his wife back to the guild to meet the family."
Bang!
The guild's front door was kicked open, and Natsu rushed in carrying Happy, his hair messy and his clothes stained with seawater: "Oi! I'm back!"
The hall instantly went silent. Everyone's gaze skipped right over Natsu and landed on Lucy, who was following behind him.
Blonde hair ✓
A large bunch of gold celestial spirit keys at her waist = wealthy = rich ✓
Fair skin, beautiful... delicate ✓
Perfectly meets all the criteria for a "rich and beautiful girl"!
The next second, the guild erupted in deafening jeers and cheers!
"My god! Riyao wasn't lying!"
"Natsu really brought back a rich and beautiful wife!"
"This is even more unbelievable than me getting an S-Class request!"
"The fire-breathing idiot actually has a wife! I clearly knew Natsu first!"
Natsu, Happy, and Lucy were all bewildered, standing at the door at a loss. The commotion was too chaotic, and they couldn't hear what everyone was shouting at all. Lucy even wondered if she had walked into the wrong guild.
By the second-floor railing, Riyao was gnawing on an apple, and Mirajane leaned on his shoulder, laughing so hard she couldn't stand straight: "You intentionally didn't tell the whole story yesterday just to watch the fun today, didn't you?"
Riyao chewed his apple and said vaguely: "I didn't lie. Natsu did eat with Lucy and boarded the ship to save her, and finally, they ran away together under the moonlight. They're the ones who misunderstood; it has nothing to do with me."
It wasn't until Elfman rushed over holding a bunch of wildflowers and shouted "Congratulations, Natsu!" that Natsu finally reacted.
He instantly bristled, his voice louder than the jeering: "What wife! Louise is just a comrade I found!"
Lucy stood there, torn between complaining about Natsu getting her name wrong or condemning this group of rumor-mongers first. She opened her mouth and finally only squeezed out: "I-I-I'm not his wife!"
Natsu suddenly turned his head toward the second floor, his eyes wide: "Riyao! Get down here and fight me! You're the one who was talking nonsense, right!"
Riyao and Mirajane slowly walked downstairs. Riyao spread his hands, his face not even turning red: "I never said you two were a couple; they're the ones who imagined it. It has nothing to do with me."
Mirajane smiled and took Lucy's hand, saying gently: "Hello, I'm Mirajane. Welcome to Fairy Tail."
Lucy looked at the gentle older sister in front of her, who looked exactly like the cross-dressed Riyao, and suddenly cried out: "You-you-you're Miss Mirajane from Sorcerer Weekly!"
Gray stepped forward, pointing at Riyao and shouting: "Yesterday you clearly said... said... said..." The words were on the tip of his tongue before he realized Riyao really hadn't said "couple," but his tone made it too easy to misunderstand. He scratched his head frantically, so angry he couldn't speak.
Cana crossed her arms and sneered: "It's obvious Riyao intentionally misled us! Beat him up!"
"Beat him up!" the crowd echoed in unison, and a brawl instantly broke out.
Riyao VS All of Fairy Tail!
Please select your hero.
Riyao grabbed his firewood stick and rushed into the crowd: "I have no intention of competing for supremacy, but I do intend to give you idiots a good thrashing!"
"Fire Dragons Iron Fist!" Natsu was the first to charge, his fist wrapped in flames as he smashed it toward him.
"Ice-Make: Lance!" Gray pressed his hands together, and several ice spears shot toward Riyao.
"Call Thunder! Summon Wind!" Cana threw out two cards, and lightning and wind blades struck in tandem.
"Action Beam!" A small Mage in red clothes and yellow pants scurried out from the crowd and fired a blinding laser.
"Is this cool enough?!" A sturdy woman in a floral cotton-padded jacket kicked toward Riyao's waist, her voice booming.
Just as everyone was fighting tooth and nail, a brilliant white light flashed.
Cha!
Makarov's Giant form suddenly appeared, reaching two stories high, with his huge palm hanging over everyone's heads.
Everyone instantly froze as if a pause button had been pressed. Only Natsu was still hopping around with his fist raised: "I'm the one who wins in the end!"
Thud! Makarov stepped on Natsu's back, pinning him to the ground: "You bratty brats! Tearing the place apart while I'm away again, are you?!"
Mirajane quickly pulled Lucy over and explained with a smile: "Don't be afraid, this is our Master, Makarov."
Makarov shook his body and turned back into a short old man, landing on the ground: "Yo!"
Lucy looked at the giant who had suddenly shrunk, her eyes wider than copper bells, and said in surprise: "Ah!?"
Makarov cleared his throat, wanting to show off by doing a backflip onto the second-floor railing. However, he didn't get the angle right and "thudded" against the railing, making him grimace in pain.
This backflip: Zero points!
He quickly clutched the back of his head, coughed twice, and put on a majestic expression: "Ahem! You bratty brats, causing trouble for this old man outside again!"
"Idiot Natsu destroyed Hargeon Port! Gray, you stripped naked in the street again during a request! Cana, you drank all the wine the client had been saving for ten years..."
As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of complaint documents, which "whooshed" into flames. He tossed them out, and Natsu lunged for them like a husky.
"To hell with the Council and all that! Listen up!"
Makarov suddenly raised his voice, his eyes becoming incredibly firm. "Power that transcends common sense is all born from within common sense. Magic isn't some miraculous power at all; it only manifests concretely when the wavelength of the 'Qi' flowing within us perfectly matches the 'Qi' flowing in the natural world!"
"Magic stems from willpower and concentration—no, it's about pouring your entire soul into it. That is what magic is!"
"If you care about the gazes of those high and mighty people, the path of magic will never progress. So, don't be afraid of those idiots in the Council. Moving forward on the path you believe in, that is a Mage of Fairy Tail, and that will never change!"
The guild members were instantly fired up. One after another, they held out their hands, extending their index fingers and thumbs to make Fairy Tail's iconic 'L' sign, and shouted in unison: "Whoo!!!" The sound was so loud the windows shook.
Lucy stood there, her eyes slightly reddening as a surge of hot-blooded emotion and touch she had never felt before welled up in her heart. This was the Fairy Tail she yearned for!
Riyao, however, spoke up while picking his nose, his tone lazy: "The old man's speech is getting more and more practiced. He gave this same one to the newcomers last time."
Mirajane reached out and slapped his hand away, adding helplessly: "After all, he's been using these lines for almost five years."
The guild instantly erupted in laughter: "Riyao's pulling the rug out again, hahahaha!" "The Master's speech has been exposed again!"
Makarov was so angry his beard and eyes were twitching. He jumped up and kicked at Riyao: "You brat! Would it kill you to let this old man perform properly for once?!"
Lucy stood amidst this group of brawling Mages, looking at everyone laughing uncontrollably and Riyao being chased and beaten by Makarov, and suddenly felt her eyes grow hot.
So this was what Fairy Tail was like—no rigid rules, no hypocritical pleasantries. Everyone was like family, noisy but warm, absurd but sincere.
She gripped the celestial spirit keys in her hand tightly, silently making up her mind: She must join this place and become a member of Fairy Tail.